Eliza Knight - The Rules of Chivalry (13 page)

She straightened her back. “That is none of your concern, Timothy. Aye, I know your name. I know your wife too. Did I not provide her care for her ague? And what did you do in return for me saving her life? You have defiled my home.” She stepped closer to the man when he backed up. “Do your duty, as I do mine.”

Men and women staggered behind Timothy, on edge, waiting to see what he would say in response. But she wouldn’t let him have a chance to countermand her again.

“You know not your place, Timothy. Think you that by not doing your duty, by speaking ill of me and disrespecting me you will gain favor with his lordship?” She pinched his ill woven tunic and then poked his bony arm. “What favor has he bestowed on you?
New clothes?
A hearty meal of venison?
A warm bed?”

Timothy’s gulp was audible, but his voice was quite the opposite.
“No, my lady.”

“No, you say? Then why?”

He looked behind him as if the answer lay within the crowd of servants.

“What about
you,
Maven? Why do you shirk your duties?” Elena said, taking the girl by surprise.

Maven looked on wide
-
eyed. “I know not, my lady.”

Elena took a step back and spread her arms in exasperation. “I have done nothing to you, but care for you when you are sick, clothe your children, offer you food from my table and you repay my kindness with impudence. You should be ashamed. I may just whip you all myself.”

A few mouths dropped open. Then a saucy tart
,
who
Elena
thought went by the name Betsy
,
swayed forward, hands on her hips. Her dirty skin hid what might have been beauty, her dark brown hair was so matted with grime,
Elena
doubted she’d brushed it in years. Her mouth held a brazen smile.

“Well I have
been
with his lordship.” She looked
around raising her brows, her suggestion more than obvious. “An’ he told me personally, not to listen to a word his lady wife had to say.”

“How dare—”
Raelyn
started, but a hand held up by Elena stopped her.

She wasn’t going to let this woman get to her. More importantly she didn’t care that the woman bragged to have slept with Lord Kent. In fact, she felt sorry for her. The act must have been a nightmare for her. He cared not for abusing her own person, what would he do to a servant? She shuddered to think.

“You will be the first,” Elena said calmly.

“First what?”
The woman asked, leaning her upper body forward, her stance challenging.

Elena grabbed the woman by her arm, and nodded for her ladies to follow suit. “
To be c
leansed.”

The woman gasped, digging her heels into the stone floor, but it was too slick with muck to hold her.
Raelyn
, Beth and Mary grasped the woman. “Take her to my chamber.” She pointed to her other ladies, and wiggled her brows. “Prepare her for a cleansing.”

Her ladies nodded. She often referred to her ritual a
fter Lord Kent bedded her as a cleansing.
They would know exactly what she meant.

When the screaming and kicking servant was gone from the hall, she turned her eyes on the rest of them. “Does anyone else wish to be cleansed along with Betsy?”

Scared eyes stared back at her as they shook their heads, not one of them knowing what she meant by
cleansed
.
If they knew she simply meant to give the foul woman a good scrubbing and talk her ear off about respecting her body, they might not have been so inclined to do her bidding.

“Good. I want the great hall scrubbed from top to bottom. Take these rushes and whatever debris lies within them out to the bailey and burn them. New rushes must be
woven and brought in. I want herbs sprinkled around them—rosemary and basil I should think. Bring in the cats to get rid of the vermin.  The doors shall be opened, let the fresh air in. Take the tapestries down from the windows, beat the dust from them and let the air flow through.
Wash the walls.
Take the tables and benches outside, scrub them well with warm water and lye. Polish them with beeswax. We dine outside this eve.” Elena made eye contact with each and every one of them. Not one challenged her now. “It will most likely take you several days to get it just as it should be.”

She hadn’t wanted to scare them into listening to her, but it seemed to be the only way. She would have to show them her gratitude when they completed their duties, so they would know that a good servant was someone to be cherished.

“Good then, we have an understanding.
You there.
”
S
he pointed to a cluster of young women. “Bring hot water to my chamber to fill the tub. The rest of you pray for forgiveness and get to work.”

Chapter
Ten

“W
hat the devil is going on here?” Kent
stood,
fists on hips, in the courtyard just beyond the stone stairs to the keep. His cheeks were flushed red and puffs of air shot out of his mouth like a fire-breathing dragon.

Michael stood at the end of the trestle table, awaiting Kent and Elena. The sun was still high in the sky, but it would only be a matter of a couple hours before it fell to the horizon. It was the first evening that all of his men would be attending dinner—those who he’d banished to the field had worked their
arses
off and he planned to reward them. He was excited to sit beside Elena, share more than a passing glance. He’d yearned to speak with her
since they’d arrived just over a fortnight ago
. Every chance he’d had was thwarted. Up until that morning even. He’d found a few spare moments to come and see her
, t
hen he’d been challenged by six of the knights.

He still wasn’t sure how he felt about her seeing such a display. She’d made it clear before when he’d put on a show with Jon that she didn’t like him roughly handling others. When she’d smiled down at him, he’d taken it to heart; she didn’t seem disappointed in him. Hopefully she knew it was important for him to establish his dominance among the knights. Sounded like they were a pack
a rabid wolves
, but the truth was, they really were. Being the wolf with the biggest bite had earned him a lot of respect today.

Kent walked forward and roared at one of the servants. “Why in blazes are my tables outside?” The poor maid shrugged and scurried away before answering.

Servants bustled around Kent and Michael, filling the tables with trenchers, mugs, and food. Succulent meats still sizzled on platters, steam rose from various other dishes, and the scent of freshly baked bread made Michael’s mouth water.
The entire
staff
was in an uproar at Lady Kent’s demands for cleanliness and order. And here he stood, Kent glaring daggers at all who dared look at him. All of the tables and benches were scrubbed and polished. They didn’t even look the same. In fact, he’d thought the tables to be a deep mahogany, when in fact they were more light oak in color. They’d appeared to be much older than they actually were as well.

“Devereux? What say you of all this?” Kent indicated the set-up in the courtyard.

Elena had taken the reins. Good for her, he was glad. Every time he’d walked into the great hall he’d had the overwhelming urge to relive his last meal—and not in a good way.
Michael tried to hide his pride in her sudden confidence.

“My lord,” he bowed. “The great hall was in desperate need of a scrubbing.
A few of the men
even
volunteered
to help with some repairs that needed
to be done
.” He emphasized volunteer to indicate the men were being punished for some deed. And right they were, but Michael was sure they would have chosen to help anyhow. The rats from the great hall trickled down to the cellar below where most of them slept.

Kent glowered for a few moments longer as he took in what Michael said. Then he grunted, nodded and walked to his high-back chair at the trestle table.

The man seemed to be taking Michael’s opinion more and more.
Kent appeared to like
the way Michael had handled the men. In
the earl’s
tent at the tournament
, he’
d even mentioned he thought the men were getting out of hand, but he hadn’t the strength or energy to deal with it. Michael secretly wondered if the man abused his wife and other women in the household because it was the only way he could feel some power. Did he torture the servants and peasants for the same reason?
Michael frowned. There
was more bad than good in
the Earl of Kent
.

Even still, there were three of
Kent’s
men, the first
three to challenge
Michael, that
seemed to have a sense of entitlement, as if Kent Castle and the lands were their own. Mayhap empty promises had been made since the earl had no heir. Empty or not, the promises were something Michael would have to deal with if they had been made.

“Sit down, Devereux,” Kent ordered
. He took
a large gulp of wine that was set before him, and then indicat
ed
to the waiting servant to refill it.

Tragedy averted, Michael took a deep breath. Raising his gaze toward the great oak doors of the keep he caught Elena’s stare. Gratitude showed on her face. She exhaled with him as if she’d been
waiting,
strung up all day for the whip to hit her flesh, and now she’d been pardoned.

He tilted his head in her direction and then walked to his seat, but remained standing as she and her ladies came out onto the lawn. He was always amazed by their beauty and grace, and tonight especially. Elena wore a gown of deep green velvet. The ends of her wide sleeves and the hem at the bottom were embroidered with gold and black roses. The cut was not as high as she normally wore, but still modest. S
he continued to wear
the silly contraption that made her figure boyish, but even still, she glided like an angel and the gentle sway of her hips almost had his head moving back and forth to follow. Her hair flowed down her back. The wind picked up a few strands and twirled them in the air behind her. A soft gold headdress decorated with black pearls sat on her head.

“My lady.”
He bowed, and when he stood and saw no
one else
bowing, he thought it time to make another change. “Knights, rule five.”

As one, the men stood and bowed, albeit some grudgingly, toward the women. The ladies looked surprised, and Elena beamed. Today was a big day for her. Michael’s chest swelled with pride, and something deeper. His heart felt like it might leap from his body. Before his face could show
his feelings to the whole of Kent Castle, he masked his features.

Lord Kent looked up, a smirk on his lips. “Might rule five be to grovel at the feet of worthless females, in hopes they might kneel before us to provide our pleasure?”

Michael let out a
forced
short laugh, all the while seething inside.  No, the man definitely did not have a bit of warm compassion buried deep. A few of the men made vulgar movements of their hips. Michael snapped his gaze in their direction and they immediately quit their disgusting display of piggish behavior. Elena and her ladies all bowed their heads, the light
dimmed in their eyes
.

Kent laughed aloud and took
another long swallow from his cup.

“Nay, my lord.”
Michael’s
voice was cool and even.

Kent stopped mid-sip and glanced at Michael. Slowly he set the cup down, licking his lips as if in thought. “Do you question me?”

“Nay, my lord.”
Blood rushed through
Michael’s
ears. He was so used to leading the
men,
he’d forgotten what a boar his own master was. Dear God, this moment could mean the end of his position. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Elena’s hands slip into the folds of her gown. No doubt
,
she was as much on edge as he was.

Kent grunted. “What the hell is rule five then?”

Michael placed his hands behind his back, legs stiff. Here it went…
T
he man would have him thrown in the dungeon, tortured, and the bastard knights assigned to carry out his sentence would love every minute of it. “To respect and honor women.”

Kent looked horrified. He had to mollify the man somehow. It wouldn’t do for Lord Kent to string him up by his toes and flog him to death.

He forced a smile to crease his lips. “
All the
better to see our ale is not poisoned, or our breath taken as we sleep.”

Kent squinted for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
“As if they’d have the nerve!”

Again Michael let out a breath, another tragedy averted. He would have to tread more carefully in the future. The lord of Kent Castle wouldn’t be so easily turned.

“I imagine not, my lord.”

Mayhap he should just take Elena away from here—tonight. If they fled back to Ireland, would Kent pursue them? Would it cause a war?

He glanced at Elena who made her way to the table. He would broach the topic with her.
Even if he had to give up his honor, his identity.
He would plow the fields and live in poverty if it meant he could love her. But then again, he wouldn’t want her to suffer for his selfishness. He was willing to die for her, but he’d never ask her to do the same. He couldn’t ask her. The simple
thing to do was just what she asked of him—protect
her.

“Lord
give
me strength,” he said under his breath.

The ladies took their places.

Could he do
only
as she requested? Her kiss in the woods, her offer of herself… Lord, she was asking him to be hers in the only way they could, even if it was a sin. He sat down to hide his body’s reaction to the memories of her hot, silky mouth.

“Sir Devereux.” Her voice was as warm as honey. Her green eyes sparkled.

“Good evening, my lady.” He kissed the hand she held out to him, and then offered her a bit of meat.

“Devereux.” Kent slammed his hand on the table. Droplets of wine spilled from several cups. “Come sit beside me. We have much to discuss.”

He groaned inwardly. The moment he’d been waiting a fortnight for had been ruined. He inclined his head to Elena, and then moved to sit beside Kent.

Kent indicated for him to lean in close. “I received a
missive.” He shoved a large piece of chicken into his mouth. Grease spilled down his chin, and he wiped it with the back of his sleeve. “There have been raids on neighboring villages while we were away. Lord Arundel believes the villains may try and attack here soon.”

Michael nodded. He wouldn’t be surprised.

“I’ve had workers begin a wooden fence around the village, but I do not think it will be finished in time to protect the whole of the town. I want you and the men to devise a plan. I will not tolerate raiders.”

“When did the missive arrive?”

“What does that matter? Do as I’ve instructed.”

The muscle in Michael’s jawed ticked uncontrollably. “My lord, if I may, I’d like to know so I have a better idea of how long we might have to prepare.”

Kent rolled his eyes, as if greatly annoyed.
“A sennight ago.”

Michael’s gut burned. At any moment they could be attacked. Riders could come barreling through the town
,
tossing burning torches onto the thatched roofs, pillage what supplies the town had, murder and rape… He couldn’t bear to think of the carnage that could occur within the snap of his fingers. Why had Lord Kent kept the information from him? How was he to do his duty as Captain of the Guard properly and successfully if he didn’t have such important information
?
And then it hit him—perhaps that was Kent’s plan. He saw how well Michael was leading the men and he thought to undermine him—and at the expense of his people’s safety no less.

“I see.
If you’ll excuse me?”

Kent nodded and went back to shoveling overly large bites into his greasy, rotten mouth.

Michael took off at a quick pace to the stables, signaling for Fletch, Colin and Jon to follow.

“What is it, sir?” Fletch asked, catching up to him.

“We must ride the grounds and see if there is anything amiss. Kent has just informed me he received a warning a sennight ago of an impending attack.”

His men looked incredulous. All he could do was shake his head. He was seething inside.

“Jon, ride out to Sir Thomas Devlin’s estate and tell him the news.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Fletch, you ride out over the south and west and let me know what you find. Ride hard, observe everything. I want to know if a flower has lost its petals, or if there is one less sheep in the herd. Check the perimeter of the wooded areas. Report back to me here as soon as possible.”

Together they stalked into the stables.

“Colin, go into the village and make sure the people are warned and prepared. See that they have adequate food, water, weapons. Check on the wall. Tell them if they see anything to make a run for the inner bailey. We will lock them within our own walls.”

He pulled Black from the stable and didn’t bother with a saddle. “I will ride over the north and east, and warn the guards at the gates to be prepared.”

T
hree
Kent
knights burst into the stables.

“Captain,” they said in unison, out of breath.

Michael’s stomach lurched. Had they already been attacked?